Type

The Tagore Memorial Hall was designed by Balkrishna Doshi in 1966. The building is a piece of brutalist architecture.

Design

A series of rigid frames in reinforced concrete folded plates provide the outer shell to this hall. Vertical folds are 17m high, increasing in depth from 1.15m at the base to 2.4m at the top with a constant plate thickness of 15cm. Horizontal folds are 2.4m deep and span 33.5m with a plate thickness of 10cm increasing to 15cm near the supports.

Inside the hall, a 'seating bowl' with a capacity of 700 is supported on an independent structure. Sculptural columns and cantilevers of this bowl dominate the lobby area. The hall, located on the banks of Sabarmati River, is supported on individual and strip footings resting on a sandy strata.